Passage to India

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India is in flux. Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, became prime minister after a landslide election victory in May. Britain ended a boycott of Mr Modi’s state government, in Gujarat, only two years ago owing to concerns about his role in communal riots in 2002.

Now the British government seeks a closer relationship. William Hague, the foreign secretary, and George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, are in India on a two-day visit with the aim of cementing ties and promoting trade and investment. It is the right thing to do, on grounds of history